Public wary of high-speed rail, water bond, poll says

However, with priorities changing since 2009 and a new Legislature in place, the governor and lawmakers are negotiating a new package.

If the election were held today, 42 percent of likely voters say they would support the earlier bond as written. That’s a 9-point drop from the March 2012 response.

However, 55 percent of likely voters statewide say they could support a scaled back bond of undetermined cost.

Likely voters were nearly evenly divided in most regions except one. Voters in the Central Valley, home of some of the state’s biggest farms and large contingents of unemployed laborers, overwhelmingly oppose the existing bond, 56 percent to 37 percent.

Despite their reservations, 68 percent of likely voters statewide agree it is “very important” or “somewhat” important for a water bond to pass.

TAXES

Other taxes do not appear welcome. Only 43 percent favor extending the sales tax to services that are now exempt, even if paired with a cut in the overall sales tax rate. Also, a tax on oil and natural gas falls short: 44 percent support that idea.

Voters say it should be easier for the Legislature to put tax measures on the ballot. Sixty percent say it should take just a simple majority vote instead of the current two-thirds of the Legislature to put a tax before voters.

Californians are split on whether to allow local sales taxes to be raised for transportation projects with a 55 percent majority instead of the current two-thirds. Forty-nine percent of likely voters favor that idea.

It also takes a two-thirds vote for the Legislature to directly approve new taxes. Democrats could hold a supermajority in both houses of the Legislature once special elections wrap up later this summer.

Just of 40 percent of likely voters support giving lawmakers the authority to raise state taxes on a simple majority vote.

MIXED MESSAGES

Californians tend to broadcast different messages in polls and the latest is no exception. Prime examples involve gun control and environmental regulation.

In the wake of recent mass shootings, Congress and state lawmakers are debating a number of gun control measures.

In California, likely voters were split on whether it’s more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns (48 percent) or to control ownership (49 percent). At the same time, strong majorities favored a ban on high-capacity ammunition clips that hold more than 10 bullets (62 percent) and a federal database to track gun sales (67 percent).

State lawmakers are also debating changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and other bills to make the state more business friendly, potentially at the expense of the environment.

A majority of likely voters (55 percent) said government regulation does more harm than good while fewer (49 percent) agreed strict environmental regulations “cost too many jobs and hurt the economy.” In contrast, 46 percent said standards “are worth the cost.”

Yet, a strong majority (59 percent) want to see the federal government follow California’s lead by regulating car and factory emissions to curb global warming.